Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

Zhou Tianyang stood up and looked at his father.

"Father, I'm leaving now."

Zhou Kui nodded without saying anything more.

When Zhou Tianyang walked out of the study, it was already completely dark.

Inside the main room, the mother was tidying up the table. When she saw Zhou Tianyang come out, she quickly wiped her hands and went to greet him.

"Are you leaving?"

Her voice carried a barely restrained reluctance.

Zhou Tianyang looked at her and nodded.

"Mother, I have to go."

Wang Lan stood in front of him, looking at his face.

Then she reached out and straightened his collar.

"Be careful out there..."

She didn't say anything more, but just left those words on her lips.

It was as if she was afraid that if she said too much, she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears.

Zhou Tianyang raised his hand and gently grasped her hand, which was still adjusting her collar.

"Mother, I will come back."

"I'll come back after the war is over."

Wang Lan finally couldn't hold back her tears.

She turned her face to the side and wiped it with the back of her hand.

Then he turned back and nodded vigorously, unable to say anything more.

Zhou Tianyang released his grip, took two steps back, and glanced at Zhou Tianxuan and Zhou Tianqing standing beside him.

Then he turned around and strode out of the main room.

Instead of going through the front door, he went around the corridor, through the side gate, and into the back alley.

Zhou Tianyu followed behind him and escorted him to the entrance of the back alley.

"Brother, that's enough for now."

Zhou Tianyang stopped and turned around.

He looked at Zhou Tianyu and remained silent for a moment.

Please take good care of things at home.

"Don't worry."

Zhou Tianyu looked at him with a certain steadfastness in his eyes that only brothers share.

"I'll keep an eye on Dad, and I'll also take care of Mom."

Zhou Tianyang nodded and didn't say anything more.

He turned and walked quickly down the dark back alley.

He walked through several alleys and brushed past the puppet troops at the city gate.

Then, following the dirt road outside the city, I walked quickly toward that small village.

Ma Yong squatted at the village entrance, chewing on a blade of grass, waiting listlessly.

He vaguely saw a figure walking quickly towards him, and immediately stood up to meet him.

"Commander, you're back?"

"Um."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, and without stopping, walked into the courtyard where they had spent the night.

Liu Ping was sitting on the threshold of the house.

I saw Zhou Tianyang walk into the courtyard.

"Commander Zhou, you've been gone for most of the day. I thought something had happened."

Zhou Tianyang sat down on the stone steps in front of Liu Ping and answered calmly.

"It's nothing, I just went into town for a stroll."

Liu Ping glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

He could sense the change in Zhou Tianyang's emotions.

But that change wasn't a bad thing; it was more like a period of calm after a period of settling down.

Zhou Tianyang walked into the courtyard and washed his face by the well.

"Ma Yong, have you arranged for sentries?"

"Everything is arranged, Commander, don't worry."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, walked into the side room, and lay down on the makeshift bed made of a door panel.

The courtyard gradually quieted down.

About an hour later.

There was a soft knock on the door of the side room.

Zhou Tianyang immediately opened his eyes, his hand already touching his waist.

"Commander, it's me."

Ma Yong's voice came from outside the door, very low.

Zhou Tianyang sat up, walked over and opened the door.

Ma Yong slipped in, closed the door behind him, and leaned against the doorframe.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Tianyang sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked at him.

Ma Yong stood by the door, silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than usual.

"Commander, you went into town this afternoon, did you go home?"

Zhou Tianyang neither denied nor admitted it.

He simply looked at Ma Yong, waiting for him to continue.

Ma Yong has followed Zhou Tianyang for many years.

He knew that Zhou Tianyang was from Suzhou.

This information wasn't a secret back in the 772nd Regiment; the original owner would occasionally mention it while drinking.

Ma Yong remembered it from that time.

"I guessed right."

Ma Yong sat down on the low stool by the door without asking for details.

"I just wanted to ask, how's everything at home?"

Zhou Tianyang remained silent for a moment.

"fine."

He only said two words.

"That's good."

Ma Yong nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He sat there, as if waiting for Zhou Tianyang to decide whether or not to continue.

The side room was quiet for a while.

Zhou Tianyang picked up the box from beside his pillow.

"My family gave me some money, saying it was for the brothers to buy food and ammunition."

Ma Yong's gaze lingered on the box for a moment, then moved away.

"Commander, do your family members know what you're doing outside?"

"Know."

Zhou Tianyang's tone remained calm.

Ma Yong lowered his head, as if he was processing those words.

After a while, he looked up at Zhou Tianyang.

"Commander, if you'd like to stay another day, we can rest outside the city for another night."

"I'll talk to Comrade Liu Ping. It won't matter if he arrives in Shanghai a day later."

Zhou Tianyang shook his head.

"No need. I've seen it, so I know what I'm doing."

"You have to leave when it's time to leave; delaying on the road can easily lead to accidents."

Ma Yong did not try to persuade him further.

He had followed Zhou Tianyang for so long and knew the commander's temper.

They can leave or stay as they please, without ever dragging things out.

"Alright, Commander, you can rest now. I'll go check the sentry posts outside."

Ma Yong opened the door to the side room and went out.

The courtyard returned to its previous tranquility.

Zhou Tianyang sat in the darkness for a while longer.

Ma Yong has been with him for so many years.

They never ask questions they shouldn't ask, but they always show concern when it's time to offer it.

He could sense what was hidden in Ma Yong's words.

Zhou Tianyang lay down again and quickly fell asleep.

……

The next morning, before dawn.

Zhou Tianyang then woke up.

He lay there for a while, listening to the faint sounds coming from outside the courtyard, without rushing to get up.

His gaze fell on the box beside the pillow.

Then he silently recited a sentence in his mind.

"System, store this box in the system space."

The moment the words fell.

The box disappeared without a sound, along with the 300,000 silver dollars.

He placed it in that space that only he could access.

When he pushed open the door and went out, there were already soldiers moving around in the courtyard.

Ma Yong was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, his back to him, his gaze fixed on the distant city gate.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw that Zhou Tianyang had already gotten up. He nodded slightly.

"Commander, you're awake."

Zhou Tianyang walked to his side and followed his gaze to look at the blurry outline of the city wall in the distance.

"Has Comrade Liu Ping gotten up yet?"

"I've been up for a while now, and I'm tidying up in the next room."

Zhou Tianyang nodded and said nothing more.

His gaze swept over the soldiers who were preparing in the courtyard.

Everyone was quietly doing what they were supposed to do.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze lingered on them for a moment before he turned and walked into the side room where Liu Ping lived.

Liu Ping was sitting on the edge of the bed tidying up the rattan trunk.

Seeing Zhou Tianyang enter, he looked up, his tone somewhat relaxed.

"Commander Zhou, you look quite well today."

"I slept well last night."

Zhou Tianyang sat down on the stool opposite him.